The Wrong Way
by Leta McGotor
Summary: Why has Severus killed Albus. Were it really the orders of the Dark Lord or did he have other reasons, choose he maybe the wrong way of love? MMSS
1. Feeling Lost in December

The Wrong Way

Author: Leta McGotor

This is an attempt to explain why Severus has murdered Albus. In my other story (A Life of Hiding) I have an explanation yet but here you can find another one. Please, tell me what you think about it. This will be a three-shotand I hope you like it.

Chapter 1: Feeling Lost in December

It was late this evening shortly before the Christmas holidays in Hogwarts. It was dark outside, only a few stars were to be seen at the sky and ther moon was often covered by thick clouds. Soon the first snow would fall for it was very cold and you even could see your own breath in the dungeons and outside at the lake. Most students had early gone to bed and only a handful of them were sitting in their common rooms to do their last bit of homework.

It was this time when Severus Snape made his way through the deserted corridors. He was relived that he met no one for a smile played around his lips. He had waited the whole day for the evening, he knew it would be a joyful one. Soom he turned around the last corner and found himself standing in front of one of the heavy old doors of Hogwarts, the door of Minerva McGonagall, with whom he was in love and secretly married for 15 years now.

Severus was sure when he knocked on the door that no one coming across him now would guess the right reasons for his visit at the Deputy Headmistress. He waited impatiently, but it seemed in vain, for the familiar 'Come in'. He knocked again, and again there was no sign of his wife. Severus knew her password but he was sure, that Minerva would become angry if he dared to enter her rooms without knocking.

He spoke the password 'Emerald Lions' and entered the office. Minerva was sitting at her desk, fast asleep. I front of her laid several piles of parchment, two bottles with ink, one of them emty, a lesson plan was to be found on the floor, next to the spoon, belonging to the half emty cup of cold tea.

Severus closed the door quietly behind him and sighed. Half he had expected to find her like this again but a part of him was always in hope, that there would be an evening, when she didn't fall asleep because she was overworked.

Silently he picked her up, like he so often had done it in the last and even more in this term. Minerva snuggeled against his shoulder, still asleep, and let herself carry into her bedroom. Carefully Severus took off her robes, but Minerva awoke nevertheless.

"Severus?" She jawned and sat up, looking to one of her clocks and jawning again.

"It's allright, Mia. You are tired, you should sleep."

"But the essays. I have to correct them until tomorrow." She began to protest but Severus pushed her down on the bed and pulled the blankets around his wife before kissing her on the forehead.

"Let them. Your students will be delighted if you give them back later. The essays don't run away, Mia." He only got a weak mumble as an answer for Minerva had gone to sleep again.

Severus watched her for a few minutes before he left her rooms. Not knowing what to do with himself he left the castle to go for a drink in the Hog's Head. He hoped the cold wind would maybe calm down his temper. He wasn't angry with his wife but with the school and the whole situation. She never seemed to have time for him and he felt let down, lonely. He met her only a few times a day at meals or in the corridors, therefore he was always looking forward to the evenings. But now with all the added work she had to do the evenings and nights were the same as the days. He knew it was not her fault but it was far the easiest way to blame her. Couldn't she do her paper work another time?

Silently and with his famous grumpy expression he entered the pub. To his dismay all tables were occupied and there was no place for him. Then he saw a table at the far end of the pub, occupied by only one person. Slowly Severus aimed for that table and sat down without saying a word. He only nodded to the other man sitting there with a grumpy expression and a half emty glass of golden liquid. The other man did nothing but sipped on his drink.

Severus ordered his first glass of firewhiskey and drowned it down all at once and ordered his second. The man opposite from him looked curiously at Severus, when he drank his third glass, now a bit slowlier than the first ones. Soon they bagan to talk with each other and when the clock showed that it was nearly midnight they both left the pub and went to London to another one. There Severus' disaster began in form of his companions sister, who had a great interest in him.In the early hours of the morning they left the pub together and headed to the small flat she owned.

* * *

Several hours later Severus awoke with a burning headache. He found himself in a for him unknown room. He laid spread across a bed, completely naked, his clothes everywhere in the room, beside him an also naked woman. Severus remebered her name as Ester. He swallowed when the memories of the past hours came back to him and he went pale when comprehension dawned on him, that he had indeed cheated on Minerva, he had slept with another woman.

He sat straight upright and he felt cold sweat on his forehead and panic in his stomach. What had he done? Was he really that drunken? As fast as he was able to, he gathered his clothes and took them on. Ester looked sleepily at him, a stray of her hair covering half of her face.

"What are you doing there?", she yawned. Severus ignored her while sizing his shoes

"I have slept with you.", he said matter of factly.

"I know"

"I'm a married man. Do you know that, too?", he asked sarcastically. She frowned shortly before answering.

"No, but where is the problem? We meet secretly, she won't notice anything, I promise you."

"I can't"

"Why not?"

"Because I love her. I have married her because I loved her and I promised to always stand by her side. Understand?" Ester turned sulkily her back to Severus, in her head working on a plan how to keep him. She knew she wanted him, only him no one else. He was the man of her dreams.

"I'll go now.", he said half through the door of her bedroom.

"Wait!", she jumped to her feet and hugged him, kissing him desperately. Severus pushed her softly away before turning around and leaving the flat without saying another word. He only heard Ester screaming behind him.

"Why has you slept with me, when you love her so?"

* * *

The rest of the day Severus sat in his office and thought about the incident of last night. He had to tell it Minerva but simultaneous he feared, she would leave him and he would lose her forever. With that contradiction of his thoughts he went to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Severus?… Severus?" Minerva looked worried at her husband. He hadn't said a single word and was paler than normal. "Severus?"

"Hmm? Oh Minerva, have you said something?"

"Are you allright? You look so pale and behave strange, maybe you should go to see Poppy."

"No, I feel fine. Thank you. I'm only a bit tired, that's all." _He couldn't do it. He couldn't even look at her, nor he had the courage to tell her that he had sex with another woman._

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I am."

Minerva looked at him with a stern expression on her face, as if she would look at a student, who had broken the rules. Severus knew that look and it made him even more uncomfortable.

Wearily Severus climbed in his bed this evening, his thoughts with Minerva and to his dismay with Ester, too.

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	2. Discoveries and Heartache

The Wrong Way

Author: Leta McGotor

**Quill of Minerva: **No, it's not the last we see and hear of her although she is not the main person in the story. The main figures are Minerva and Severus in the first two chapters and Albus additionally in the third one. And yes, aren't men stupid creatures, are they?

Chapter 2 Discoveries and Heartaches

The Christmas holidays were a wonderful change in the days of Severus and Minerva. She had less to do because of the holidays and the missing essays and spent as much time as possible with her husband. They visited a Scottish Christmas Festival, argued softly about what to give Albus for Christmas and what to do in their next summer holidays. The threatening of Voldemort was never a topic they spoke about and Severus refused to tell her what he had done in the last days, when she was too tired in the evenings to do something other than sleeping.

Minerva, as always, woke up first the one day to find herself curled up against her still sleeping husband, She began to kiss him softly on his forehead and further down his face until he stirred and woke up pulling her down towards him and kissing her soundly. When they parted, a contend smile played around her lips and he, too, showed one of his rare ones.

"Care to see what you got, you bad boy?", she said kissing him again.

"I'm bad? And you, you evil woman? You are not as innocent as you play to be. I know that."

"Do you think so? Maybe you are wrong and I'm an innocent shy, little girl."

"You? Never!"

Severus got a very old and rare book about difficult poisons and antidots. Minerva's present was a medieval looking silver locket, which she had admired for months.

But the Christmas holidays didn't last for an eternity and soon, too soon in Severus' opinion, the students arrived again, happily chatting about their presents and holidays. To his great dismay Minerva returned to her work, too, and all went the same way as before. The whole situation aggravated him more than ever and it was stupid to think, that he only sat around and watched all happening. The first he tried to ignore it, but more and more he felt let down and pushed away again and he often found himself thinking about the night with Ester. Unfortunately he met her one day in London, when he was there to look for ingredients. She invited him to visit her and her brother and Severus didn't know why, but he accepted.

In the evening he met them in the little pub, where he got to know Ester. When he entered the small but noisy pub, Severus looked around. He felt nervous like a first year before the Sorting Ceremony. When Ester had asked him to meet her this evening, he was so frustrated that he had accepted and thought it was right, but now his whole body screamed, that it was wrong, so deadly wrong. Severus stepped forward and as if this was the step of no return, the door behind him flew shut. He felt as if caged in a situation he didn't want to be in.

"Severus" Ester jumped to her feet and hugged him while the whole pub was looking amused at the couple.

"Ester, please, let me go."

"Only if you come with me." She answered pulling him with her to one of the tables at the far end. There she pushed him on the the bank and sat on his lap, before she started kissing him all over. First Severus tried to push her away, slightly, but soon he answered her passionately.

This night again he followed Ester to her home. He enjoyed her to be near him, to touch him and to confess her love for him. He had missed those whispered little words, the gentleness of touches. Head over heels he flew into the adventure of the night.

The next Morning Severus arrived early at Hogwarts and crept along the corridors. He wanted so desperately nobody to see him for he knew if he would meet someone, he had got a big problem. Seemingly easy he slipt into his office and closed the door behind him, relieved nobody had noticed his early arrival. He was badly mistaken.

On top of the stairs Minerva McGonagall stood watching him curiously. She had got up early today for she wanted to prepare the day. Her plan was it to surprise her husband and she had asked Albus to give her one day off. But when she had heard a noise she head turned around and wondered now where Severus might come from.

At breakfast she told Severus of her day off and wondered why he choked. Severus didn't await such news and he would have been glad to hear them, but today they destroyed his plans for the day, because he had intended to meet Ester in the afternoon. So he told Minerva when he was able to breathe again, that he had essays to correct and some potions to brew. Minerva was clearly disappointed and a little voice in her head said that he was lying. Instead of that she told him she would go to Glasgow and not to be awaited back before dinner. Later she wished him goodbye and went out of the castle.

After lunch Severus made his way to Ester's flat, where he would meet her. She awaited him in front of the house and kissed him on the lips to welcome him. Severus wrapped his arms around her and they both made their way up the stairs. Minerva, who stood at the next corner told herself, this scene meant nothing.

In the afternoon Severus and Ester made their way to the little pub, where her brother and a few friends awaited them. Qickly they sat down at their favourite table and ordered their usuall drinks. Ester, as always, sat on Severus' lap. Minerva had followed the couple into the small pub and was now looking for them. She didn't intend to stay long or to lecture him about what she thought about this all, she only wanted to be sure. The whole afternoon she had told herself that her senses played a joke on her, that Severus would never cheat on her. She shook slightly when she entered the pub, not sure whether to go on or not. Suddenly someone from behind pushed her and she stumbled in the middle of the room. She sighed, now or never.

Slowly Minerva strode past several tables, some of the men looked curiously at her. But then Minerva stopped abruptly because she had seen her husband and that… that woman. She swallowed. It was true, she couldn't believe it, but it was true. Immobile she stared at the happy couple and his face, his happy face, printed itself in her mind.

Slowly Severus looked up and around. Somehow he had the feeling someone would watch him. Then he saw Minerva standing alone in the middle of the pub staring at him and Ester on his lap. Panic rose in him, he hadn't intended for Minerva to discover it on her own and especially not this way. Silently he formed her name with his lips, but Minerva shook her head, turned around and ran out of the pub. Severus scremed her name but she didn't hear him, she only wanted to be far away from him.

While Minerv kept running Severus pushed a confused Ester from his lap and jumped to his feet. Within seconds he was out of the pub and ran in the direction his wife might have chosen. But to his dismay he didn't find one single hint where she might have gone. So he disapparated to Hogwarts in hope to find her there. Arriving in Hogsmead he got a short glimpse of someone hurrying to the castle. Therefore he raced up the way to Hogwarts, but Minerva was faster and closed the door shortly before he arrived at it.

"Minerva, Minerva, please open that door! Let me explain, Minerva" But she didn't answer him. Inside her rooms Minerva sat on the floor crying. She knew what that meant and she also knew the consequences.

The next morning came and Severus was still sitting in front of Minerva's rooms. From time to time he tried again to reach his wife, but it was in vain, like the hours of the last night. Maybe she had gone to bed or she needed time to think about it. Severus was not sure whether he could believe one of those thoughts or had better accept the truth. His Minerva had left him and he knew for sure, that she had all right to do so.

Several hours later Severus stood up, because some of the students looked curiously at him and he was going to come late for his classes, not that this would matter to him right at the moment.

During the whole day Severus tried again and again to reach her but all was in vain. When she had lessons he had some, too, and when he waited for her in the Great Hall, she never came. She didn't open the door, when he knocked, not only for minutes but for hours. In the end of the following day Severus had nearly given up hope ever to talk with Minerva.

Reviews? Thoughts? Opinions?


	3. The end?

The Wrong Way

Author: Leta McGotor

**I'm sorry it took me that long but I had no Internet for nearly two weeks and I hadn't finished this chapter until yesterday. I hope you'll forgive and review although this is the last chapter.**

**Underground:** Oh, what can I say? They _solve_ the problem, but not the way you are hoping. I'm sorry but their solution is far away from the one you imagine. Thank you for your thoughts.

**Child of the Seine:** I hope you like the name 'Mia' after the chapter, nevertheless. Severus is really a bit of an big idiot. Thank you for your review.

**Ange Cavalière:** It's not that bad with not being English. I'm not, either, I'm from Germany and so I know how it is with making mistakes. I'm afraid this is the last chapter of this fic and here you can see the link, although you won't like it, I believe. I don't like it, either. Thank you for your review.

**Quill of Minerva:** 'Right of this situation' – well, he does something to make it 'right' but like the title says, it's the wrong way he goes. Thank you for your review.

Chapter 3 The End?

Several days came and went and although Severus gave nearly up hope, he knocked again and again at Minerva's door, waited until the last minute at breakfast, lunch and dinner or dismissed his classes early only to wait for her in front of her classroom. But every time she didn't open the door, come to the Great Hall or she rushed past him without even looking at him and slammed the next door into his face. Everyone knew something was wrong with the two of them but no one knew what it was.

Beside Severus' strange behaviour, Minerva reacted nearly the same way. She neither came down for meals anymore nor did she leave her office at all. Nobody knew that she spend her afternoons sitting at her window and crying over her broken heart.. So it happened that she one day felt so alone and let down that she made her way to her best friend and employer, Albus Dumbledore. With shaking hands she knocked at his door, not sure what to tell him. Soon the familiar 'Come in.' sounded, muffled through the door. Sighing and collecting all her courage she opened the door and stepped into the room. Behind his desk, which was covered all over with parchment and quills, Albus Dumbledore sat and looked slightly stressed to the door. When he recognised Minerva, he smiled and put his quill down.

"Minerva, how can I serve you? Please, take a seat." Slowly she sat down on the sofa near the fire, staring into nothingness.

Albus remained silent. He knew, when she was ready to tell him whatever it was, she would do so. After several minutes Minerva sighed and began to tell Albus all about what she had seen, feared, discovered and finally how she had avoided to speak with Severus because she would completely break while doing so. Albus again remained silent while Minerva spoke, only when she broke out in tears he rushed to her and took her in his arms. Minerva sobbed into his robes, still telling him what had happened.

* * *

In the meantime Severus strode through the corridors, his expression more frightening than ever. No students dared to cross his way and even his colleages and the ghosts preferred to look at him only from a distance, Severus was in a very bad mood.

He had tried the last two or three hours to reach Minerva but she hadn't opened the door. More and more he bacame aggravated by her behaviour. Surely he could understand that she was hurt but this situation now was not good for her, either. He didn't know what to do, but he remembered what seemingly all people did when they didn't know how to cope with the situation. So he made his way up to the office of Albus Dumbledore to ask for his advice.

Severus was so much in a hurry to get an answer that he neglected knocking and simply entered the room. His jaw dropped when he saw the two in front of him. Albus sat on the couch and looked rather confused and in his arms lay no other than…

"Minerva", Severus exclaimed and stopped in his tracks. "What are you… are you…" He didn't know how he should continue.

"Severus, I… why…" Minerva swallowed. She had not seen him in days and when she now looked at him she noticed that he had become paler and thinner.

"I never thought that you… you two…" He crossed his arms. He didn't even want to think about it and every thought that told him, that she had betrayed him all the time with their best friend, made him more and more angry and hurt as twice as deeply. There didn't count the things that he had cheated on her or that she was maybe honest all the time and this only looked peculiar. _How could she use him like that, how could he have been ignoring that all the time, how could he have been sorry? She had betrayed him. His Minerva had betrayed him. _The two people who meant more than anything to him had betrayed him - and the rest of his heart shattered in millionth of pieces. Without another word he left the office, he had seen enough.

* * *

It was the next day when Minerva sat lonely in her rooms, her thoughts only with Severus, and looked out of her window. It was dark outside and nobody and nothing were to be seen. A long time ago she had watched Albus walk down to the village, something he had done very often in the passing year. Oh, how she wished she knew what he was doing. She turned around when there was suddenly a knock at her door. She couldn't answer it for in the next second Ginny Weasley stormed in her rooms, telling her something from Death Eaters that had come into the school and that there was a fight already. She followed her student back through the corridors, hearing the sounds of screams and of the fight. Then she stood in the middle of it and got only a short glimpse of Filius Flitwick while she ducked because of several stunners which came her way, her thoughts still remained with her husband.

"Filius, go and wake Severus. We need him here." She cried. Severus was her one and only thought during the whole battle and when Flitwick had vanished around the next corner she felt safer because she knew Severus would soon be on his way to help them. Oh, how she was mistaken.

* * *

It was dark in the hospital wing when Minerva opened her eyes. _What had happened?_ She looked around. They had removed Bill Weasley to St. Mungo's and most of the injured had gone to their homes again. It was over, all was over and she knew it. Slowly her memory came back. There was the funeral this day and afterwards the leaving of the students. How strange, that she could not remember the meeting with the minister, that was planned for the evening. Little did she know that she had collapsed on the front steps just after all students had left and that she had slept for nearly ten hours in the hospital wing.

She lay back again, to weak to sit up that long. Where was her strenght? She knew where it was. It had gone that night with Severus Snape, gone with her still beloved husband, gone with the murderer of Albus Dumbledore. Oh, it all seemed rather a nightmare than reality. Had it all really happened? She closed her eyes, ready to go back to sleep, ready to relax a bit, to collect the rest of that, what once had been her hopes, her dreams, her love, her strenght.

Suddenly there was a noise in the hospital wing. Was it really Poppy Pomfrey? Somehow she couldn't believe it but she didn'r open her eyes. Her eyelids were far too heavy. There, there it was again. Then she herd voices.

"What's that, Poppy? It can't be Minerva, can it?" The voice of Xiomara Hooch.

"No, she is far too weak. It would be a wonder if she was able to lift an emty cup at this moment. It can't be her." Madam Pomfrey answered and held up her candle. The next thing was a scream and all went dark again. The light of the candle had vanished. Then Minerva heard the shocked voice of Madam Hooch.

"Severus, Bellatrix Lestrange… what…"

"Oh, don't you know, you stupid thing? We are here on orders of the master. Would he mind if we finished them off, too? Severus?"

"Yes." Was the only answer she got. Bellatrix shrugged with her shoulders. "And if we tortured them a bit?"

"Too much noise. There are too many idiots in this castle at the moment." He answered.

"That's not fair. I want my fun." She cried, pointed with her wand directly at the unconcious Poppy Pomfrey and let her fly through the air.

"Let her down."

"No" She answered but did what he had said only to point at Xiomara and say 'Crucio' Her screams were to be heard in the whole castle and several people woke up and gave alarm.

"Stop it, you stupid woman. I hear the first idiots coming." Then he went quickly to the bed Minerva was lying in. Her eyes were wide open now and she stared Severus right in the face.

"Hello Minerva. It was a long time since we have spoken last time. Do you remember me? How were your last days, now your lover is dead?", he said looking at her as if she was nothing more than a rat. "Have you been lonely, maybe you felt even let down, neglected. What do you think I felt when I saw you in the arms of that old fool." He stretched every word and the pain was clearly visible in his eyes.

"Severus…" Minerva tried, but she was too weak to continue.

"Surely, you had the right to be angry with me the way you was, but you had no right to… to betray." One single tear rolled down his cheek and fell onto her's. "But Minerva, you will not longer feel the pain – yes, I can see it in your eyes." He said before he layed his hands around her neck and pressed. Minerva's eyes became even more wide than before and she gasped for air, whimpering slightly.

"I want it to do it with my own hands, Mia. I want to feel you for the last time." Her body went limp into his arms, but he didn't lift his hands and strangled her, although there was not much life left in her. Then it was over. He knew it in that second when her heart made its last beat. He let go of her and looked for the last time in those green eyes, which would never be full of life again.

"Severus, we have no time left." He heard Bellatrix say behind him, but it didn't matter to him. For the last time he touched her still warm cheek, touched his own tear on it. He kissed her on the mouth – no reaction – before he stood up to leave. "I have loved more than anything in this world, Mia, but you betrayed me. My love – the bit I had – has gone with you and will never come back, as well as you will never come back." He closed her eyes, turned around and left the hospital wing without even glancing back.

-The End-


End file.
